Convergence in technology has started to erase distinctions between devices such as the computer, telephone, television (TV), media player and the like, so that the functionalities of once separate devices are now combined into a single device. For example, it is not uncommon today for people to access the Internet using a TV and to watch televised content on a personal computer (PC). As another example, emails can be sent with a smart phone and phone calls can be made from a PC. While merging technologies afford end users greater accessibility to electronic content and additional channels of communication, the process by which a business tracks its interaction with consumers (i.e., end users) via these electronic devices is made more difficult by the variety of devices and the various connection channels that can be established by each device.
A business aims to maximize its marketing dollars by buying effective advertising that successfully reaches a target consumer and ultimately leads to the purchase of its goods and/or services. Multifunction devices enable users to switch between online and offline marketing channels with ease and thus compromise the ability of a business to determine the efficacy of its advertising campaigns across the channels. For example, website and search engine analytics attempt to measure the performance and effect of online advertising. However, when a user transitions from one form of interaction (e.g., browsing the web) to another form (e.g., making a phone call), the ability to effectively gauge an advertisement's success and to ultimately gain useful lead intelligence is lost.
Call-tracking telephone numbers attempt to bridge the gap by tracking user interactions with advertisements (ads), regardless of whether the interaction is online (e.g., web-based) or offline (e.g., telephonic, person-to-person). A call-tracking number (CTN) is a specific phone number that is not tied to a particular location or phone, but is linked to a company for the purpose of tracking a unique advertising campaign. However, using CTNs to perform call tracking is not only costly, but also unreliable. For example, CTNs are often re-used too quickly after they are retired from a previous campaign and thus incoming calls may be a result of obsolete advertisements. Old advertising campaigns can lead to undesirable incoming calls to the CTN and therefore skew the performance analysis of advertising campaigns. Further, the quarantining of recycled CTNs requires businesses to purchase and stockpile unused CTNs for long periods of time. As such, in an environment of changing technologies and communication channels, the ways in which a business measures the efficacy of its advertising campaign also need to evolve.
The need exists for systems and methods that overcome the above problems, as well as provide additional benefits. Overall, the examples herein of some prior or related systems and their associated limitations are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of existing or prior systems will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the following Detailed Description.